In answer to critics of his proposal for free bus transit, New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani posted the video below pointing out that the Staten Island Ferry is free. “Who said public transit can’t be free?” he asks.
Yet it isn’t really free for three reasons. First, taxpayers spent $154 million operating it in 2023 (plus $19 million on capital replacement costs to keep it running), which worked out to well over $10 per trip. In 2019, before the pandemic, ridership was higher but it cost more than $7 per trips.
That money had to come from somewhere. Mamdani apparently thinks he can tax the 1 percent highest-income people in New York City to pay for all his dreams, but they are already paying nearly half the taxes collected by the city. Increases in taxes will lead to some of them moving out, which will probably reduce total tax collections.
Second, the reason why it is free to users is that nearly all of the riders are expected to transfer to some other form of transit at one or both ends. In 1997, New York City implemented a Metrocard system to pay for transit rides, allowing users to pay one fare to ride, say, a bus and then connect to a subway. Rather than spend a lot of money installing card readers for the Staten Island Ferry that (since most riders would continue on a subway or other transit line) wouldn’t generate much net additional income, the city decided to let passengers ride the ferry for free.
While that seemed like a sensible decision at the time, it is due to such decisions that the city’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority has driven itself so heavily into debt and expects to run $1 billion to $2 billion deficits each year for the foreseeable future. Mamdani proposes to reduce fares on the buses that connect to the ferry to zero, thus eliminating the reason why it made sense to make the ferry free in the first place.
The third reason why it isn’t free is the environmental cost. Ferries are notorious energy hogs. Operating the ferry in 2023 consumed 8,800 British thermal units (BTUs) of fuel and emitted 647 grams of carbon dioxide per passenger-mile (up from 4,962 and 363 in 2019). The 2023 numbers are well over twice the amounts used and emitted per passenger-mile by the average light truck and three times the emissions of the average car and even the 2019 numbers are worse than an SUV. Apparently, carbon dioxide emissions are only a problem if they come from automobiles, not from expensive substitutes for those autos.
People are debating whether to call Mamdani a communist, Marxist, socialist, democratic socialist, or municipal socialist. That’s just semantics. Whatever you call him, it is clear that he doesn’t understand the relationship between revenues and costs or why prices make markets into a feedback system that works for most goods and services, including grocery stores and transportation. Judging from his videos, he seems like a nice guy that anyone would be happy to host for dinner, but not someone who should be put in charge of a major portion of the nation’s economy.
“The 2023 numbers are well over twice the amounts used and emitted per passenger-mile by the average light truck and three times the emissions of the average car and even the 2019 numbers are worse than an SUV.”
That’s hardly a fair comparison, between a vehicle traveling on open water and a vehicle traveling on a paved road.
Instead of the free ferry, you can drive a car or take a bus to/from Staten Island, both of which will reduce CO? emissions.
WordPress can’t handle subscript “2”. Who knew?
By your logic, almost nothing provided by the public sector—from roads and bridges to fire departments—is “free.” The point of “fare-free” transit is the elimination of a barrier at the point of use, making essential services accessible to all, particularly those who rely on them most for economic mobility and daily life. You conveniently overlook that the vast majority of public infrastructure, including our expansive and often congested road networks, operates on precisely this “taxpayer-subsidized” model.
By your logic, almost nothing provided by the public sector—from roads and bridges to fire departments—is “free.” The point of “fare-free” transit is the elimination of a barrier at the point of use, making essential services accessible to all, particularly those who rely on them most for economic mobility and daily life. You conveniently overlook that the vast majority of public infrastructure, including our expansive and often congested road networks, operates on precisely this “taxpayer-subsidized” model.
Furthermore, your dismissal of Mamdani’s progressive tax proposals as leading to an exodus of high-income earners is simplistic at best. Numerous studies on tax-induced migration, particularly in New York, consistently show that factors far beyond marginal tax rates—like job opportunities, cultural amenities, family ties, and quality of life—are the primary drivers of relocation. New York has continued to attract and retain high-income residents even with its tax structure. Advocating for progressive taxation to fund public goods is not a “dream,” but a recognized economic strategy for investing in shared prosperity.
Your critique of free buses eliminating the ferry’s justification is also shortsighted. The value of fare-free transit extends far beyond a simple transfer convenience. Pilot programs in NYC and elsewhere demonstrate that eliminating fares significantly boosts ridership, reduces boarding times, decreases operational costs associated with fare collection, and most importantly, provides crucial economic relief to working-class families. The argument isn’t about maintaining a specific historical justification for one ferry; it’s about leveraging transit as a tool for equity, efficiency, and environmental benefit across the entire system.
Perhaps your most disingenuous point is that Mamdani “doesn’t care about CO2 emissions” because ferries have high per-passenger emissions. This is a classic example of focusing on a single tree while ignoring the forest. While any single mode can be critiqued in isolation, the overall environmental benefit of robust public transit lies in its ability to reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) by shifting people out of private automobiles. A comprehensive transit network, even with a component like a ferry, drastically lowers overall emissions and congestion across a metropolitan area. By promoting a systemic shift away from car dependency, public transit directly addresses climate goals in a way that individual car ownership (even electric) cannot fully achieve without fundamental changes to urban form.
Mr. O’Toole, your arguments often rely on a narrow, transaction-based view of public services, ignoring their broader societal benefits. Public transit isn’t just a collection of individual vehicles; it’s a vital circulatory system for a city’s economy, environment, and social fabric. Dismissing proposals for more accessible and equitable transit as simply “not understanding economics” reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of public economics and the powerful role infrastructure can play beyond a simple balance sheet.
Perhaps it’s time to move beyond the “antiplanner” rhetoric and engage with the complex, yet vital, role that well-funded, accessible public transit plays in building truly livable and sustainable cities.
No it hasn’t:
Map Shows Which States Lost Most Tax Money After Recent Population Shifts
California, which lost 1.6 million residents from 2011 to 2021, resulting in a $4.5 billion revenue loss. New York followed, seeing a $3.8 billion revenue lost in 2025 after losing 1.7 million residents during that time frame. Florida gained the most new residents to internal migration, with more than 1.5 million Americans moving into the state from 2011 to 2021, which is resulting in $4.1 billion in additional revenue in 2025. Texas followed, gaining more than 1.2 million new residents and an additional $914 million in additional revenue, according to the data analysis.
Mamdani didn’t say top 1% he said whites need pay more….
https://nypost.com/2025/06/27/opinion/zohran-mamdanis-tax-whites-more-is-pure-racism/
Mamdani is just another in long line incompetent race huxster, Marxist-lite twats who believe Diversity and Brown-ification of American cities is Great …. so long as a white taxbase exists to foot the bill for everything.
There is an undeniable exponentially positive correlation between the amount of browns in dense/confined spaces and the likelihood of crime, assault, rape, gunfire.
https://x.com/PHILLYHEADLINE/status/1942278916384907622
This is because with their undeveloped pre-frontal cortex, lack problem solving & critical thinking skills. Instead their immediate reaction to the slightest inconvenience or disrespect is to lash out in the most violent way possible or whine their culture must be respected regardless outcomes. Adding guns to the mix will always guarantee this outcome which is why the 1st and 2nd Amendment was never intended for them.
In many Sub-Saharan African nations about 20-25% population is HIV Positive and in central Africa its over 40%. In UK new HIV cases doubled due migrant rape and prostitution. Curbing influx African migration isn’t racism it’s survival, especially considering their propensity interracial rape.
That cameljockey can go fuk himself with a Quran.